Descent Into the Underworld - The Caves of Vieng Xay

Vorstoß in die Unterwelt - Die Höhlen von Vieng Xay

Laos, with its vast primeval forests, steep limestone cliffs and caves, is a country that has embraced
secrecy and withdrawn from the modern world. Where the territory of Laos reaches like a bridgehead far into Vietnam the CIA bombarded the Laotians in a war that officially never took place.In the inaccessible province of Houphan, the caves of Vieng Xai lie hidden in a formidable karst mountain range. Hermetically sealed for
decades, the Communist Party only opened the breathtaking rocky landscape to international visitors in the last year.The approximately 400 caves of Vieng Xai are an undiscovered gem for a group of European cavers who are now exploring. Presidents, ministers and rice growersalike all barricaded themselves in the karst caves, and 23,000 people found refuge in them. The Lao revolutionaries went underground and moved an entire town to the caves, building underground military sick bays, armouries and barracks.